In order to check tension in a belt, for instance a cargo belt, it is known from German patent 4,100,245 for the apparatus to have a housing carrying a pair of longitudinally spaced abutments fixed on the housing. A transversely movable support is braced against a spring and the extent of compression of the spring can be read so that when a tensioned belt is engaged between the fixed supports and movable support the scale and indicator show how much the spring is compressed and therefore how much tension is in the belt.
This device has a U-shaped housing traversed by bolts forming the fixed supports. The spring-loaded support is guided on the housing sides and a ratchet or the like is coupled via a guide bolt to this spring-loaded support. Such a device can be incorporated right in a standard tensioning device.
While this system is relatively effective, it is not simple in construction or very easy to use. Fitting it to a belt to measure the belt's tension can be tricky.